The Sony Handycam HDR-CX110’s lens focuses comparatively fast and it’s a compact camcorder.

Thumbs Down:

The Sony Handycam HDR-CX110 delivers hardly OK video quality and its lens flare problem is worse-than-expected even in bright sunlight.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Manufacturer: Sony

Part Number: HDR-CX110

Price: $439.95 – $499.99

Product Type: Camcorder – 1080i

Weight: 7.4 oz

Dimensions (W x D x H) in inches: 2 x 4.5 x 2.2 inches

Optical Sensor Type: Exmor R CMOS

Operating System Support: Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows XP SP3

Shooting Modes: Digital photo mode

White balance: Presets, Custom and Automatic

Exposure Modes: Program and Automatic

Peripheral Devices: CD-ROM drive and USB port

Software: Sony Picture Motion Browser and Drivers & Utilities,

Cables Included: USB cable, A/V cable, Component audio/ video cable

Connector Type: Composite audio/video output, Component video output, USB, S-Video output, HDMI output and Remote control

Additional Features: Built-in speaker ,   Face detection ,   USB 2.0 compatibility ,   Touch-screen control ,   Dynamic Range Optimizer ,   Digital noise reduction ,   Smile Detection technology ,  Intelligent Scene Selector ,  Dolby Digital AC-3 (2 channel) recording    and Takes photos while movie recording

Shooting Programs: Beach, Snow, Sunset, Candle, Fireworks, Sunrise, Spotlight, Landscape, Twilight mode and Portrait mode

Focus: Manual & Automatic

Search Modes: Index search and Face index search

Included Accessories: Rechargeable battery pack, AC adaptor, A/V connecting cable, Component A/V cable, USB cable and Lithium battery

Supported Battery: Sony NP-FV50

Battery Type: Sony NP-FV50 Li-ion rechargeable

Razzle Dazzle:

The Sony HDR-CX110 is a follow up to the Sony Handycam HDR-CX100, and belongs to the budget priced HD triumvirate of Sony. The other cameras in the same triumvirate are the CX150 and XR150. In terms of design all the three camcorders are pretty much the same, and comfortably get into any jacket’s pocket.

The CX110 comes in three color choices of black, red and blue, and even though the camera has an odd upward projection on the right hand side of the camera, but it will work as an extra gripping option for the people with bigger hands and is useful especially as the overall body of the camcorder is rather slippery. Like most of the other ultracompact models, the CX110 also is optimized for shooting underneath the eye level. So in terms of design the CX110 is pretty much the same what we have seen in CX150 and XR150.

Inside Dope:

The Sony Handycam HDR-CX110 is a follow-up to the CX100 (as we mentioned above) and just as the CX100, the CX110 also is decently sized and can easily fit into big jacket’s pockets and bags. The HDR-CX110 belongs to the reasonably priced HD camcorder category from Sony. The HDR-CX110 is comparatively bigger than the mini-camcorders we’ve seen in the market, both in terms of price and in terms of price as well as size. But at the same time the Sony HDR-CX110 comes with plenty of features that we found were missing from mini-camcorders, and some really important features that we found were the capability to capture 3 megapixel stills and the 25x zoom lens.

In terms of design the HDR-CX110 is more attractive then the XR150 and CX150. Although its slippery exterior might concern some buyers, the sufficiently sized body of the camera gives ample grip and makes it easy for the camera holders to hold on. The screen here according to us is the same, which was used in CX100, although is comparatively smaller. But still viewing straight under the sunlight is still a problem here, especially with all the fingerprints that the touch screen accrues.

The buttons set here is typical digital camera and you have: buttons for direct DVD burn (through the CD burning software when you connect it to a PC), Power, iAuto and playback, all positioned on the body inside the LCD. In spite of using physical buttons for controlling zoom and record, the HDR-CX110 uses touchscreen for the same. Although, we don’t have any problems in using that for record, as it is a touch-and-release operation, but using the same for zooming, which requires you to hold it down, can be a tricky asking.

The mini-HDMI connector and USB are positioned under a door on the exterior of the camera; these ports are used for charging and proprietary AV jack. The switch for in-built lens cover is located on the right side of the lens. The Memory/SD Stick Duo slot is positioned straight next to the tripod mount, so if you are using tripod, things can get annoying for you.

The performance of HDR-CX110 can be disappointing for many of the buyers. Although, you will be able to get satisfactory performance in upper most modes of the printer, but nonce you turn off those modes, you will be shocked. The same is the case with the video quality, which is decent in good lightening conditions, but worsens significantly in the dim lightening conditions. So, considering the price of HDR-CX110 it’s better to keep our expectations realistic.

Nitty Gritty:

The Sony HDR-CX110 is a small sized and lucratively priced camcorder, which promises too much, but hardly reaches close to any promise made.

The Sony Handycam HDR-CX150 is a compact camcorder with relatively fast focusing capability.

Thumbs Down:

The Sony Handycam HDR-CX150’s video quality is just OK and the lens flare problem is way worse than expected, especially in bright sunlight.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Manufacturer: Sony

Part Number: HDR-CX150

Price: $499.95 – $549.99

Product Type: Camcorder – 1080i

Weight: 7.4 oz

Dimensions (W x D x H) in inches: 2 x 4.5 x 2.2 inches

Optical Sensor Type: Exmor R CMOS

Operating System Support: Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows XP SP3 and Microsoft Windows Vista

Shooting Modes: Digital photo mode

White balance: Automatic, Presets and Custom

White Balance Presets: Outdoor and Indoor

Exposure Modes: Automatic and Program

Peripheral Devices: USB port and CD-ROM drive

Software: Sony Picture Motion Browser and Drivers & Utilities

Cables Included: USB cable, A/V cable and Component video cable

Connector Type: Composite audio/video output, Component video output, USB, S-Video output, HDMI output and Remote control

Additional Features: USB 2.0 compatibility ,   Face detection ,   Scene Detection Technology ,  Dynamic Range Optimizer ,   Takes photos while movie recording ,   Smile Detection technology and Dolby Digital AC-3 (2 channel) recording

Shooting Programs: Beach, Snow, Sunset, Candle, Fireworks, Sunrise, Spotlight, Landscape, Twilight mode and Portrait mode

Focus: Manual, Automatic

Search Modes: Face index search and Index search

Supported Battery: Sony NP-FV50

Battery Type: Sony NP-FV50 Li-ion rechargeable

Razzle Dazzle:

The Sony Handycam HDR-CX150 fits easily in a jacket pocket or in a pants pocket, like the CX100 and CX110. But there are quite a number of features that are missing from this costly and bigger than mini-camcorder, and the one that we missed here was the 25x zoom lens and camcorders ability to capture 3 megapixel stills. Though, in terms of build and design the HDR-CX150 and HDR-CX110 are way more attractive than the XR150, which had a strange upward projection placed in its right side. But this strange projection also becomes an advantage for XR150, as it provides extra grip on the camera which clearly is missing from its rather smaller siblings. Like most of the other ultracompact camcorders that we’ve seen, the HDR-CX150 also is optimized for shooting under the eye level.

Inside Dope:

The Sony Handycam HDR-CX150, HDR-CX110 and XR150 they all belongs to Sony’s budget-priced HD triumvirate. All the aforementioned camcorder models differs by their storage media and color, the HDR-CX110 doesn’t have any en suite memory, while the HDR-CX150 comes with an integrated 16GB memory and the XR150 comes with a humongous 120GB hard disk. Apart from this the HDR-CX150 and the other models mentioned above belongs to the first generation of Sony’s camcorder to support approximately all SD cards. While the HDR-CX150 comes in red and black, the only color choice for XR150 is black and the same for CX110 is blue choice.

The screen in Sony Handycam HDR-CX150 is almost the same that we saw CX100, and as a matter of fact we think it’s the same from that camera, but it works well here considering the size of the camera. But using it under direct sunlight is a real tricky job. The button set used here is pretty common with buttons including direct DVD burn through software when it is connected to a PC, Power, iAuto and playback buttons. In spite of giving physical buttons for virtual zoom and record buttons, the HDR-CX150 has virtual record and zoom buttons on the touch screen. Though, the virtual record button is not a problem here, but we don’t like using touch screen for zoom. The camera also has the traditional touch-screen minutiae, like the spot focus and spot metering.

Situated under a door are the mini-HDMI and USB connectors; the proprietary AV jack and charging connector, on the body of the camcorder. A lens for in-built lens cover is given on the right side of the camera lens. Positioned next to the tripod mount of The SD/Memory Stick Duo slot sits in a door right next to the tripod mount is HDR-CX150, so if you are about to do plenty of tripod shooting it can be a problem for you and for that you can go for the hard-disk-based XR150.

The performance delivered by Sony Handycam HDR-CX150 is the biggest disappointment we had with this system. Though, the performance is satisfactory in the uppermost quality, the 24 megabit-per-second mode, but once to turn off this mode you will find yourself wondering why I have paid HD prices to get the performance just a tad better than the standard-definition quality. The video shot from the camcorder, regardless of the output device is a bit soft and has plethora of artifacts. The video quality worsens in dim video light, and hence its better you expect nothing exceptional from the camcorder considering the price of the camcorder.

Nitty Gritty:

The Sony Handycam HDR-CX150’s catchy price and appealing design might fetch your attention, but this fundamental camcorder barely delivers on the HD quality promise.

The Sony Handycam DCR-SR68 comes with a 120 GB hard drive, straightforward operation, a compact size and in that small size it has a 60x Zoom lens.

Thumbs Down:

The Sony Handycam DCR-SR68 has apparent fringing on subjects and delivers soft and noisy video. The only image stabilization for the camera is the electronic image stabilization, the camera doesn’t even have mic and headphone jacks.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Manufacturer: Sony

Price range: $349.00 – $349.99

Part Number: DCR-SR68

Dimensions (H x W x D): 2.6 x 2.2 x 4.2 inches

Weight: 9.9 oz

Operating System Support: MS Windows 7, MS Windows XP SP3 and MS Windows Vista

Media Type: Flash card &   Hard disk drive

Resolution: 720 x 480 megapixels

Shooting Programs: Beach, Snow, Sunset, Candle, Fireworks, Sunrise, Portrait mode, Landscape, Twilight portrait and Twilight mode

Image Stabilizer: Electronic (Steady Shot)

Digital Video Format: MPEG-2

Exposure Modes: Automatic & Program

White Balance Presets: Outdoor and Indoor

Still Image Format: JPEG

Supported Flash Memory: SD Memory Card

Features: Touch-screen control,   PictBridge support,   Backlight compensation,   USB 2.0 compatibility and Dolby Digital AC-3 (2 channel) recording

Software: Sony Picture Motion Browser and Drivers & Utilities

Cables Included: A/V cable and USB cable

Power Device: Power adapter External

Supported Battery: Sony NP-FV30

Razzle Dazzle:

The Sony Handycam DCR-SR68 is available in three color choices of red, silver and blue, but its counterpart the DCR-SR88 is only available in silver color. The overall design of DCR-SR68 is pretty small and catchy. The control layout on DCR-SR68 is trademark camcorder pattern with the start/stop button positioned at the rear end of the camera and the zoom rocker situated on the top of the camera. In general terms the size of the camera is equivalent to the size of a cola can. The positioning of hand strap is something that looks like can cause a little bit of problem, but it actually did not. One another interesting thing about the camera is that despite having such huge storage space of 120 GB the camera doesn’t have a single bump. Though, this could be attributed to the light and small hard drives available these days. Located on the top left of the camera is the power input of the camera, besides the hard drive. The battery of the camera can only be charged inside the camcorder.

Inside Dope:

The Sony Handycam DCR-SR68 the hard drive based entry-level standard-definition camcorder by Sony. The camcorder comes with plethora of catchy features, but the some that caught our attention includes its big size Megazoom lens, reasonably small size and humongous storage capacity, but more than anything else the fact that all this comes at a price tag of $400 was the thing that got our attention. Even operating the DCR-SR68 is pretty easy, mentioned that you are familiar with the operation of digital cameras. Though, there is endless menu system for DCR-SR68, but there are not sufficient shooting options for the operators. Just like most of the other camcorders from its class the video quality result for the camera is pretty usual, particularly if you are planning to watch them on full screen large HDTV or if you are a high-definition content fanatic.

The controls on the body of the DCR-SR68 include a button to switch between video and photo modes positioned at the top of the battery cabin. Then there is the memory card slot positioned under the battery cover and battery and at the base of the camcorder. The memory slot here is compatible with both the Memory Stick Pro Duo and SD/SDHC cards. Located right at  the front and under the lens of the camera there is a small door which covers the proprietary AV output; although there only is composite cable included with the camera, but still you can get a S-Video cable. For the operation of lens cover there is a slider located on the right side of the camera, but if you are trying to operate it while your hand is in the strap then it can be really tricky.

The performance delivered by Sony Handycam DCR-SR68, considering the low status of the camcorder is pretty imposing. There is an instant option for the camera, which enhances the performance of the camera by turning the camera on and off pretty fast. The battery for Sony Handycam DCR-SR68 offers continuous shooting of 100 minutes, although the time may vary depending upon the number of times you turn the camera on and off. The video quality of the camera is pretty noisy and soft.

Nitty Gritty:

The Sony Handycam DCR-SR68 comes with humongous storage space, huge Megazoom lens and all that at reasonable price. But to cut down the price, a little compromise has been made here and there, and once you take a deep look at the camera you will find that spending a little more on an HD model would have been a more sensible decision.

Thumbs Up:

Compact, small in size.

Thumbs Down:

Unimpressive video quality.

Inside the Trunk:

Component video cable, USB cable, A/V cable.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Sony Handycam HDR-CX100 is a 1080i camcorder, with 120x digital zoom, optical sensor size is 1/5”, videos are stored in AVCHD, MPEG-2 format, minimum shutter speed is 1/60 second and maximum shutter speed is 1/1000 second, shooting programs include twilight mode, portrait mode, spotlight, landscape, fireworks, sunrise, sunset, candle, beach.

Camcorder sensor resolution is 2.36 mega pixels, effective still resolution is 2 mega pixels, interpolated still resolution is 4 mega pixels, images are stored in JPEG format. The camcorder has 8 GB on internal memory. The camcorder has 2.7 inch touch screen TFT LCD.

The device has Zoom lens – 3.2 mm – 32 mm – F/1.8-2.2, lens aperture is F/1.8-2.2, with focal length of 3.2mm-32mm, has 10x optical zoom, minimum focal lengths is 3.2 mm, maximum focal length is 32 mm, lens is manufactured by Carl Zeiss, filter size is 30 mm.

Additional features include Dolby Digital AC-3 (2 channel) recording, Takes photos while movie recording, Dynamic Range Optimizer, Smile Detection technology, Backlight compensation, USB 2.0 compatibility, Touch-screen control, PictBridge support, Face detection.

Connectors on the camcorder include S-video output, HDMI output, component video output, USB, composite video/audio output. Sony NP-FH50 is powered by li-ion rechargeable battery.

Razzle Dazzle:

HDR-CX100 is a full sized camcorder but Sony has managed to keep it small and hence it fits easily in your jacket pocket. The exterior is glossy and will attract a lot of fingerprints on to it. It comes in color options of bright red, traditional silver and basic black. It has a box like design and is a very cute camcorder owing to the small size.

Inside Dope:

HDR-CX100 is Sony’s first attempt at a HD camcorder and the manufacturer has tried to keep the price low. In the end you get a cheap camcorder but it doesn’t give great quality videos. Get this camcorder if you are looking for something cheap and are willing to compromise on quality.

The HDR-CX100 is pretty but doesn’t have good ergonomics when you are shooting. We couldn’t hold the camcorder properly because of the awkward design. We also had to struggle to keep the device still in our hands. For shooting stills, you need both the hands, one to hold the camcorder and other one to press the shutter button. The camcorder has a 2.7 inch touch screen display. It is very small in size and pressing the tiny onscreen buttons is miserable experience. We had lots of mis hits in our labs. The LCD also performs poorly in bright sunlight, it accumulates a lot of fingerprints which makes the display worse.

The functions like display info, power, playback, full auto easy and direct DVD burn are located on the touch screen display and the record, zoom and home buttons live on the bezel of the LCD. On the LCD cavity, there is mini-HDMI and USB connector, Memory Stick Duo slot, proprietary AV jack and charging connector.

We found the menu system a bit frustrating to use. The touch screen is responsive and fast but the structure of the menu is convoluted and it is hard to remember where the functions are located. On the home menu you get three capture modes – smooth slow record, photo and movie. You can also toggle through these modes through the mode switch. The Manage Media feature lets you choose if you want to store the media in the internal eight GB memory or external memory card. There are also settings for options like smile shutter, face detection, output settings, toggle between the high or standard definition. Options menu contains settings which relate to shooting like recording quality (bit rate), scene modes, white balance, manual exposure and focus and spot meter and focus.

The highest quality is 16 Mbps and it takes up a gigabyte of space in seven minutes. The eight gig internal memory can thus store 55 minutes of video. The economical 9 Mbps mode takes up a gig in 10 minutes of video recording.

There are a few goodies spawned like scene modes, smile shutter and face detection but other than that there is nothing spectacular about the HDR-CX100. Sony also sacrifices the 5.1 channel surround and gives us the typical 2-channel mode.

Sony gives us a 1/5-inch 2.4-megapixel Exmor ClearVid sensor in the HDR-CX100 and it is great in shooting in dim light conditions. Video quality is not great, just average quality. In conditions of bright sunlight the highlights look blow out, colors are saturated and attractive. The device has a 10x zoom lens and the image stabilization worked with it. We viewed a few videos on HDTV, they looked sharp but the edges were smeary.

Nitty Gritty:

Sony Handycam HDR-CX100 is not great on video quality. Apart from the small compact size, this camcorder cannot compete with other devices in the similar price range. We would recommend you to go for Canon Vixia HF100 if you are a camcorder enthusiast.